ROASTED PINEAPPLE SPUTNIK Frédéric’s roasted pineapple extravaganza, speared with vanilla beans so it looks like a sputnik, must be tasted to be believed. Serves 4 A whole medium pineapple 4 or 5 vanilla beans For the syrup: ½ cup/100 g sugar 1 cup/250 ml water 1 lemon, zest and juice 1 orange, juice 1 tablespoon
CHICKEN SATAYS WITH PEANUT SAUCE In south-east Asia, vendors are well aware it’s the sizzle and smell of outdoor snacks like these satays that make them so appealing. They are equally good made with pork fillet. The peanut sauce makes about 1½ cups/375 ml to serve 4-6 people. Serves 4-6 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
GINGER BISCUITS Grandma was raised on these cookies (in England they are called biscuits). In the lean times of World War II they were made at least once a week, perfect for dipping in a mug of milky tea at ‘elevenses’. The dough tastes just as good before cooking, so the recipe was a double
CRISPY ALMOND TORTE For Grandma, teatime is a key event for visitors, centered around the Victorian silver teapot and sugar bowl marked with the initials AC for Grandma Ada Clark, the same as her own Anne (Willan) Cherniavsky. She has cousins who live nearby, Caroline and her husband Jeremy, who avoid both gluten, and chocolate,
VICTORIA SPONGE Towards the end of the nineteenth century, ‘tea’ in England had strayed from being a minor liquid refreshment before bedtime to becoming the impressive spread of savory sandwiches, cookies and cakes, backed by the silver teapots and bone china cups that we equate with Victorian England. Victoria Sponge is its centerpiece, a sponge
LUCY’S CHOCOLATE CRISPIES Crispies appeal to all ages, so much so that Grandma encountered them at the local three starred restaurant when she lived in France. Crispies are made with cereal stuck together with melted chocolate and then drizzled with more white and dark chocolate (the first time Lucy made them, she was drizzled with
HEDGEHOG FRIED POTATOES It was Canadian Laura Calder who showed Grandma how to slice potatoes like hard-boiled eggs, but without quite cutting them apart, so the potatoes fan out in hot fat in the oven like an accordion. Any medium-sized potatoes will do and the choice of fat can include olive oil, butter mixed with
ALI’S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE Lemon Drizzle Cake comes from Grandma’s assistant Ali and her mother who were one day bored on a rainy day (just how long ago they prefer to forget) and decided to put together a cake of whatever was in the kitchen. It was a lucky bet and the successful recipe for
DAUBE D’AGNEAU PROVENҪALE (LAMB STEW WITH OLIVES AND TOMATO) In Provence where this dish originated, local potteries sell pot-bellied casseroles with tiny round lids just large enough to insert your hand. Sizes vary depending to family numbers, there are ten of us when we gather in the Roussillon and the stout brown pot lives on
TREACLE TART This recipe comes from Grandma’s grandmother and brightened what always seemed to Grandma long, chilly visits when the grownups spent too much time talking among themselves. The great treat was treacle tart filled with lemon-flavored golden syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a rarity in those far off days